Wanting to prove that they are contenders this season, defending champions Adamson University Soaring Falcons heated up late, scoring a huge come-from-behind win over the Ateneo de Manila University Blue Eagles, 9-6, Wednesday morning at the Rizal Memorial Baseball Stadium.
“Napaka-importante kasi galing nga kami sa talo sa UST,” recalled Adamson head coach Orlando Binarao about their 7-10 loss to the Golden Sox last Wednesday. “Dapat talaga manalo sa Ateneo para tumaas ang morale. Kailangan kumpiyansa kasi na defending champions kami.”
The win creates a logjam on top of the UAAP Season 81 Baseball standings, as both Adamson and Ateneo own 3-1 records.
And it was again possible thanks to Lexter Carandang.
Down 1-6 entering the eighth inning, the Soaring Falcons connected on three straight singles that put a dent on the scoreboard. They also forced Ateneo to retire Paulo Macasaet for Miggy Angeles. Richard Matic followed suit with a double, while a Carandang fly sliced the deficit down to just three runs entering the final inning.
Bryan Castillo opened the ninth inning with a resounding triple, followed by a base hit courtesy of lead-off batter Erwin Bosito. Matic was then able to bring home the tying run, while Carandang paved the way for the go-ahead run. A two-RBI single by Patrick Laponeia capped the Adamson storm.
“Sabi ko sa kanila, ‘Marunong ba kayong lumaban? Parang ‘di kayo marunong lumaban eh’. Buti na lang nag-connect sa palo,” shared Binarao, himself an Adamson legend.
To close out the game, Carandang registered his second win of the season after finishing off the last three batters of Ateneo.
At-bat, Carandang ended up with two RBIs. Matic and Laponeia had two as well, with Steven Manaig and Bosito picking up two runs.
The loss wasted Marco Mallari’s three-RBI outing. Miguel Habana went 3-of-3 at-bat as well in the contest. In addition, Macasaet had 11 strikeouts before being subbed out.
Adamson will look to close out the round on a high when they take on nemeses De La Salle University Green Batters on Sunday, March 3 at 11:00am. On the other hand, Ateneo hope to bounce back against the National University Bulldogs on the same day.
Linescores:
ADU – 100 000 035 – 9 13 1
ADMU – 010 104 000 – 6 10 1
